With ESA Measures Off the Ballot, Arizona Has an Opportunity To Ensure Accountability and Strengthen Student Success
With both Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) measures no longer appearing on the November ballot, Arizona has a timely opportunity to ensure that every public education dollar is managed responsibly, transparently, and with a clear focus on student success.
Education Forward Arizona believes that public education investments—including ESAs—should meet clear expectations for fiscal stewardship, transparency, and information about whether students are making progress. These are practical guardrails that build public trust, help families make informed choices, and enable policymakers to understand what is working and where improvement is needed.
Although voters will not have the opportunity to consider either Proposition 212 (the Protect Education Act, which tightened rules for ESAs) or Proposition 145 (HCR 2048, which was created as a competing proposition and promoted as a way to protect scholarship funds for military families), it is nonetheless essential to reinforce public confidence in how their taxpayer dollars are used to fund public education. This is an opportunity for Arizona’s Legislature, education community, business leaders, families, and civic organizations to come together around common-sense steps that protect public dollars and keep students at the center of decision-making.
“Arizona has set clear goals for student success, and we should be able to show how every public education investment is helping us reach them,” said Ron Butler, Board Chair of Education Forward Arizona. “The Arizona Education Progress Meter makes clear that we have significant improvements to make, ranging from early learning to third-grade reading and eighth-grade math to high school graduation. Transparency, responsible stewardship, and meaningful measures of student progress should be standard expectations for every entity and program supported by public dollars.”
The Progress Meter shows that 36 percent of Arizona third graders read at grade level, compared with the goal of 72 percent. Just 27 percent of eighth graders meet math standards, compared with the goal of 69 percent, and Arizona’s 78 percent high school graduation rate remains below the statewide goal of 90 percent. These metrics help determine whether students are prepared for college, career training, and the high-skill jobs Arizona’s economy needs.
Arizona voters have consistently said they want leaders to do more to improve education and prepare a skilled workforce. Center for the Future of Arizona polling found that 8 out of 10 voters believe Arizona’s elected leaders should do more to ensure the state has a skilled and well-trained workforce. Education Forward Arizona’s own research has consistently found broad, bipartisan support for ESA safeguards, including greater transparency, financial accountability, and reliable information about student progress.
“With voters no longer able to weigh in on ESA reforms, the responsibility and the opportunity return to Arizona’s elected leaders,” said Rich Nickel, President and CEO of Education Forward Arizona. “Arizona’s ESA program is here to stay, even as it now directs roughly $1 billion in public funds annually away from the K–12 public-school system that serves the vast majority of Arizona students. The next Legislature has a significant opportunity to do what Arizona voters overwhelmingly support: advance clear public reporting, responsible fiscal oversight, and reliable information about student progress. These are common-sense steps that give families, taxpayers, and policymakers greater confidence that ESA dollars are serving students as intended. Taxpayers also have a right to expect meaningful safeguards that prevent misuse of public funds and hold the program accountable for results.”
Nickel added: “At the same time, Arizona cannot lose sight of the larger challenge: strengthening the public-school system that is designed to educate every child, regardless of ZIP code, income, disability, or family circumstance. When that system is not delivering for students, the answer must be to fix it—through reform, resources, transparency, and accountability—not to accept lower expectations. The Legislature has an essential role in setting clear, durable standards for every education investment. And taxpayers, families, educators, business leaders, and civic organizations must remain vigilant in demanding that both ESA programs and public schools use public dollars responsibly and deliver better outcomes for students.”
Education Forward Arizona looks forward to working with policymakers, families, educators, business leaders, and community partners to advance accountable, student-centered policies that strengthen both public schools and ESA oversight. Arizona’s obligation is not simply to offer choices, but to ensure that every public education dollar is transparent, responsibly managed, and contributing to better outcomes for every student.
About Education Forward Arizona
Education Forward Arizona is a statewide advocacy organization keeping education at the center of the conversation about advancing pathways to economic opportunity, a high-demand, highly skilled, high-wage workforce, and a stronger Arizona. Working directly and in partnership with education, business, and civic leaders, Education Forward Arizona helps drive progress toward the state’s postsecondary attainment goal, Achieve60AZ, a key indicator on the Arizona Education Progress Meter. This includes advocating for policies, funding, and cross-sector strategies that support progress for communities statewide. Its work spans the education continuum—from early learning through postsecondary education and workforce training—and includes scholarships and mentoring that help Arizonans gain skills and credentials.
Learn more at EducationForwardArizona.org.